Walpole corrections officer arraigned on charges of child rape

A Cedar Junction prison corrections officer now finds himself on the other side of jail bars after being arrested on charges of raping a child.

The arrest of 39-year-old Matthew Pike June 30 came after a show of police force outside his secluded West Walpole home.

Keith Ferguson

A Cedar Junction prison corrections officer now finds himself on the other side of jail bars after being arrested on charges of raping a child.

The arrest of 39-year-old Matthew Pike June 30 came after a show of police force outside his secluded West Walpole home.

Numerous local officers and a SWAT team attempted to arrest Pike at his 8 Wind Chime Way home – a cul-de-sac off Cedar Street – but it was determined at about 8 p.m. that no one was home. As authorities staked out the area, a local officer reportedly spotted Pike driving down Main Street.

The officer and backup authorities pulled Pike over in the Department of Public Works yard on Washington Street in what police called a “felony stop.”

Pike is charged with 10 counts of rape of a child with force, two counts of indecent assault and battery on a person under 14, and one count each of assault and battery and intimidating a witness.

The brawny man – standing six feet tall and weighing 260 pounds – appeared in handcuffs at his arraignment this afternoon at Wrentham District Court.

Details of the case are being impounded until the next slated hearing on July 7.

Pike was deemed dangerous by the court and is being held without bail at the Dedham House of Corrections until that court date at which times attorneys will likely discuss the terms of a potential release.

In an unrelated incident, Pike hospitalized four Boston police officers in March during a brawl on Centre Street in West Roxbury after police say he tried to force his way into a closed pub.

The SWAT team and a state police helicopter were called out to Wind Chime Way last night as a county crisis negotiation team stood by for the arrest based off that information, said Walpole Deputy Police Chief John Carmichael.

“For the particulars of this case, we deemed this a high risk situation,” Carmichael said.

During the same month as the alleged fight with police, Pike was “detached with pay” from his job as a corrections officer at MCI-Cedar Junction, Department of Correction spokesperson Cara Savelli told the Walpole Times. She said the suspension was due to a non-work related incident, but didn’t elaborate on what that incident was.

Pike had worked at Cedar Junction since May 1996, according to the DOC. Savelli couldn’t comment on his work behavioral record.

The Department of Correction would not be commenting on Pike’s new charges, said Savelli, adding his employment status would be reviewed following these legal proceedings.

District Attorney spokesman Mike Connolly said the child rape dated back to 2008.

Authorities couldn’t comment on the exact age of the child or the child’s gender. Carmichael did confirm that the incidences took place in Walpole.

Assistant District Attorney Matt Friedel acted as the prosecutor during the arraignment but Connelly said a sex crimes expert would likely be brought in to take over the case for the Commonwealth.